Es macht Freude wieder von Jude zu lesen! Man ist schnell in der neuen Geschichte drin und Jude ist wieder ganz ihr neues Selbst. Sie und Uriah werden Nachts zu dem Mord an drei Männer in ein heruntergekommenes Kino gerufen. Nach der Vorstellung hat der Kinojunge sie tot mit durchschnittener Kehle aufgefunden. Das erinnert an zwei unaufgeklärte Morde, die zwei Wochen zurück liegen. Es gibt keine Zeugen, eine Tatwaffe wird nicht gefunden, Kameraaufnahmen sind zu undeutlich. Die Geschichte beginnt zwei Monate nach dem Ende des ersten Buches. Erfreulicherweise ist Jude bei der Mordkommission in Minneapolis geblieben. Sie wird immer noch von entsetzlichen Alpträumen gequält, kann sich aber nie an deren Inhalt erinnern. Man erfährt mehr über ihr Martyrium und ihr Leben danach, ihre Sicht und ihre Emotionen sind fesselnd und nachvollziehbar.

Dann bekommen Jude und Uriah einen recht außergewöhnlichen schon fast irren Tipp, aber sie haben auch nicht viel anderes in der Hand, dem sie widerstrebend folgen... Was sie zunächst nach Wisconsin führt... Zwischen den beiden Ermittlern hat sich eine gute, vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit entwickelt. Die Geschichte und die Taten sind sehr düster und grausam, nichts für schwache Mägen. Auf der anderen Seite erlebt man mit ihnen auch viel Menschliches und Emotionales.

Die schrecklichen Verbrechen und grausamen Schauplätze der Massaker bringen beide und die ganze Mannschaft an den Rand des Zumutbaren. Es folgen menschliche aber inakzeptabel Reaktionen. Mich konnten die Taten zunächst nicht so richtig berühren. Mir fehlte irgendwie eine menschliche Komponente. Oder es war schon zu viel, zu blutig. Die Beschreibungen fühlen sich kühl und distanziert an, anders als im ersten Buch. Aber vielleicht ist es auch die Absicht der Autorin, da auch Uriah die Erlebnisse als surreal und unwirklich empfindet. Man hat ein gewisse Distanz, wie wenn man sich einen Splatter- oder Horrorfilm im Kino anschaut.

Doch dann kommt es zu einer dramatischen spannenden Entwicklung, die Judes spezielle Sinne wachsam werden lässt. Im letzten Drittel bekommt das Buch eine zusätzliche persönliche Komponente, die mich sehr ansprechen konnte. Sie verstärkt die Verbindung zur Geschichte. Es kommen hilfreiche Hinweise und Unterstützung aus unerwarteten Richtungen. Jude nimmt ein gewagtes Risiko auf sich. Es folgt ein sehr spannendes, rasantes letztes Drittel. Alles wird am Ende aufgeklärt, es bleibt eine Idee für die Fortsetzung von Judes Geschichte.

Wichtiger Hinweis: Man sollte Teil 1 zuerst lesen. Teil 2 ist nur für die Leser interessant, die sich wirklich für Judes speziellen Hintergrund interessieren, angezogen fühlen, denn auch in diesem Buch drehen sich wieder große Teile der Geschichte darum.

Auch im zweiten Teil wird Jude noch immer wieder in die Dunkelheit ihres Martyriums zurückgeworfen. Aber es beginnt auch langsam, und zaghaft eine Aufarbeitung. Jude ist wie gewohnt tough und beißt sich durch, auch wenn sie unkonventionelle Wege gehen muss. Judes weiteres Leben nach ihrer Gefangenschaft wird sehr nachvollziehbar, realitätsnah und lebendig geschildert. Weiterhin ein schwerer Weg zurück ins eigene Ich. Aber sie gibt nicht auf! Zum Glück werden ihre Erinnerungen an das Erlebte nicht zu sehr im Detail ausgeführt. Es bleibt für den Leser erträglich, wenn auch trotzdem schmerzlich fühlbar.

Man folgt auch in diesem zweiten Teil gerne diesem ganz außergewöhnlichen Ermittlerpaar mit seine Ecken und Kanten.

Fazit: Ich freue mich schon auf Teil 3!

4,5 von 5 Punkten

Full of suspense and twists, The Body Counter will have you up late racing to finish. The characters are damaged but strong and compelling. The plot line is unique with an interesting MO for the serial killer and victim choice. This one has an ending that leaves the reader anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

This was a interesting book that is full of surprises especially the ending.. It could be a tv show.

A captivating fast pace read. I love how Anne Fraiser writes a suspenseful book with damaged characters, but also strong and fighting. Jude and Uriah are still struggling from their past, but they are detectives working hard to stop the murders happening. Jude and Uriah are a great pair they seem to get strength from each other need one another. I can't wait to see the next installment of Jude Fontaine especially with the surprise ending that Anne left us with.

I read The Body Reader two years ago and loved it. I was very excited for this sequel. Jude is a complex character that has been through unspeakable events. This book gives us more insight into her relationship with her partner, Uriah, which I adore. They are investigating a gruesome set or murders that are killing in the Fibonacci sequence. The murders grow in numbers and brutality. This is a quick, engaging read and I look forward to the next one in the series. I do think if you are interested you should start with The Body Reader.

In 2016 I read The Body Reader and was so blown way by its emotional intensity, it became the book I recommended that year. Two years later, Frasier gives us The Body Counter. Once again, Jude Fontaine, along with her partner Uriah, is thrust into a deadly game. The Body Counter is like a game of cat and mouse. All the clues are there, but putting them together is not easy. I missed on my guesses which made me very happy.

Unfortunately, The Body Counter does not recreate the emotional intensity of The Body Reader and lacks the immediacy and personal relationship that held the previous book together. In other words, this books is not about Jude, not the way The Body Reader was. In fact, I'd say this book is far more about Uriah.

The black box that is Uriah begins to open in The Body Counter. We learn far more about his backstory, the loss of his wife, his parents, even his childhood. As the killings escalate, Jude and readers see his vulnerabilities and the slow forging of deeply emotional connections between him and Jude.

Jude is still struggling to deal with the consequences and fallout from both her captivity and the later events with her father and brother. Where before, those emotions were all over the place, she now has an iron grip on herself (except when she sleeps) and that throws up a veil between her and the reader. She is calm, cool, collected, supporting others' emotional struggles, but she herself is rarely emotional.

The one place where Frasier consistently conveys Jude's emotions are how she deals with the house (her captor's house) being put in the market. From her frequent excursions there to her reactions (and Uriah's reactions) to others' attempts to unsettle her, to her finally dealing with it, that house is an important player in The Body Counter.

This is a slow burn book. While that is consistent with the beginnings of the murders - they are based on the Fibonacci sequence - it also made it hard for me as a reader to get into the book. It started off pretty slowly. We reached eight in the sequence before things truly changed for me and I became emotionally gripped by the story. At that point, there are enough characters floating around to make some educated guesses as to what is happening. It also meant that characters other than Jude and Uriah were starting to take shape.

Unfortunately, just as they were taking shape, they were also disappearing. It was very difficult to get a handle on any sort of villain. That was disappointing to me because I do so love a good villain. When my guesses proved wrong, I was excited. But I still lacked a real connection to either Jude or the villains of the piece. One character that did stand out to me was Elliott and I hope I will learn more there.

I usually don't mention anything about the cover art when I review a book. In this case, I feel it deserves a mention. I liked but didn't understand the cover art before I read the book, but having read The Body Counter now, I find it particularly compelling and interesting.

The Body Counter may not have packed the emotional punch of The Body Reader , but it was a wonderful book. I'm pretty sure I remember reading that there will be a third book (at least) and I am very eager to read it.

Jude Fontaine has come back from an incredible ordeal and, along with her partner Uriah, she's investigating a really bad strong of murders. The body count is high here but the premise, that the killer is using the Fibonacci sequence, is certainly unique in the genre. Jude and Uriah, who is struggling in the aftermath of his wife's suicide, were more interesting to me than the murders. While I found this to be a real page turner, I'm not a big fan of the serial killer plot and would have preferred to see these two investigate something less grisley and improbable. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

The Body Counter is intense, action-paced thriller/mystery that is the second book in the Detective Jude Fontaine Mysteries. The lead characters are often intense and tragic but always engaging. Jude Fontaine is a unique, memorable lead for any mystery story. Abducted and escaped after three years, Jude brings a unique perspective to any case with her ability to interrupt body language. Her partner, Uriah brings his own tragedy with him into every case and the friendship blossoming between the two is the dynamic that really drives the mystery. A spree killer keeps murdering random people and the only link seems to be a mathematical series of numbers called the Fibonacci sequence. As the violence ramps up so does the adrenaline that keeps you on the edge of your seat. High octane and chilling the story unfolds sometimes unexpectedly and definitely twisted for an easily addicting series. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.

Anne Frasier is the pen name of Theresa Weir, widely known for her excellent memoir, "The Orchard." Her fiction stands out, in my opinion, for her deep and compassionate understanding of physic pain.

This book is the second in a police procedural series set in Minneapolis about Police Detective Jude Fontaine. (The author does a great job in filling readers in on the past, so it can easily be read as a standalone book.)

Jude had spent three years prisoner in a small cage after being kidnapped, and during that time she was tortured, tased and repeatedly raped before she managed to get out of the cage and kill her captor. Now she has stark white hair that makes her instantly recognizable to the people of Minneapolis. She became after more well known after she killed her estranged father who not only was the governor, but who was a serial rapist and killer in his spare time, abetted by his son, whom Jude also killed.

When she came back on the police force, she was partnered with the head of homicide, Detective Uriah Ashby. Jude is slow to trust anyone, and their relationship is fragile, “still in the building-trust stage….”

Uriah too has had emotional trauma in his past. His wife committed suicide, and he suffers from repeated and debilitating migraines.

Lately there have been a series of killings that show a similar M.O., but with the number of bodies increasing. A math professor contacts Jude and Uriah and points out that the killer is using the Fibonacci sequence: 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13 ….

Jude and Uriah somehow have to keep their own demons at bay as they struggle to find this new demon, because the numbers keep increasing…

Evaluation: This is an interesting and complex story, and the author’s character development of the two troubled main protagonists is excellent. The murders are gruesome, but the horror is never diminished or normalized. Most surprisingly, one of the red herrings turns out to be something totally unexpected rather than just something thrown in to throw us off. I look forward to the next installment!

Five + Stars!
This second installment can be read as a stand alone, but you will definitely will want to read the first.
The author achieves the perfect main character in a detective series. A damaged woman, struggling with the demons that come with being held captive and abused physical and mentally for years.
The plot is complex and disturbing, with the component of a serial killer with and odd pattern and gruesome details. The references of past serial killers makes the story more compelling and intense.
A page turner from start to finish.

The murders were gruesome and increasing at an alarming rate. They were more disgusting and shocking than those in the last book. Some of the people involved were known part way through the book. It was just as important with the sequence of these murders to figure out why as well as who was doing them.

Once again Jude and Uriah's relationship was central to the story. The bond they share is interesting. They're incredibly close in their own somewhat distant way. The reason their relationship works so well is that neither of them wants nor consciously expects anything from the other. If they started placing demands on each other, things would fall apart quickly.

In some ways, the overall tone of the book wasn't quite as dark as The Body Reader. Jude was stable but still fragile. Her strength and resilience is remarkable. Little bits of normalcy were beginning to creep back in. I loved her character development. I am very curious to see how Jude changes as the series goes on especially once she learns about the secret that was revealed at the end.

Jude Fontaine is back. This second entry in the series features a math theory killer resulting in mass killings. Many twists and turns , while some are more than convenient, make for a page turner. The main players go through some character development and the chemistry between Fontaine and her partner grows. There's a cliff hanger that promises more to come. A quick and easy read in a series worth following.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

The second installment in the Jude Fontaine series is just as engaging, dark, and twisty as the first one. Jude and Uriah are trying to solve a series of disturbing murders. I love the friendship that the two detectives are forging. Both damaged in different ways and have become dependent on each other. This series has climbed to the top of my favorites. I’m looking forward to more Jude & Uriah.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Anne Fraiser never fails at the perfect amount of suspense and relatable characters in her perfectly written storytelling. The Body Counter continues to lead us through the dark dysfunctional lives of Detectives Jude Fontaine and Uriah Ashby as they race to solve soulless murders, while battling their own personal demons. As always, the main story has a perfect ending....and the side notes leave me begging for another in this series.

One of my favorite authors so what can I say? I’ve loved every one of her series and this one is no different. This read was fast paced and full of suspense. We pick back up with detective Jude and find her surviving against all odds. With the help of her partner we delve into their damned psyches as well as crime scenes. This book draws you in and makes you guess and imagine so many’s scenarios. This dark and twisty book will keep you longing for the next one!

I have red everything Anne Frasier has written. I am loving this series. Very well written mystery with characters that I really like. Recommended to mystery readers

Just finished my advanced reader copy of “The Body Counter” by Anne Frasier. This was the first book written by this author, which I’ve had the pleasure of reading. I enjoyed this read. Despite having not read the first in this series, I was able to step in and pick up without incident. Well written, fast paced and intriguing at every turn.

Detective Jude Fontaine is trying to return to a sense of normalcy after her escape from years of captivity. She finds herself in the middle of a new case, murder to the highest degree, and the number of murdered, grows at every turn.

Working towards finding her way in the world once again, having to locate a killer or two, and solve this case, is putting stress on Detective Jude and as well as her partner, Uriah. Will this stress, this case, help Jude find her way back, or push her over the edge, returning into a world of utter darkness?

Fast paced read and a wonderful journey, side by side with Jude. You won’t want to miss how it all ends.....Or begins.....

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Body Reader. The ability to read people’s “tells”, wether or not they are lying, or nervous etc. Such an unusual talent to have, but learned in such a heartbreaking, brutal way.
I was very invested in the main characters in this book. Will they be able to overcome past pain and experiences and not just exist in life, but thrive and live?
I recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedurals, suspense and complicated strong heroines.

I've really been enjoying this series and The Body Counter doesn't disappoint. Jude is a unique character that is strong yet weak, emotional without being outwardly emotional, and overall complex.

I highly recommend reading the first books before delving into this one just to get a grip on Jude and who she is and why she's that way otherwise, you might not like her and it may distract from the story. I can't wait to see what's next.

Our two broken detectives are back with a dark and twisted tale of a killer using the Fibonacci sequence - the sequence goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 and so on.. So as you can imagine the body count – hence the title of the book – is pretty high in this suspenseful thriller. There are lots of twists and turns through out the book – both with the investigation and with the introduction to a new character who should make future books very interesting.

Homicide detective Jude Fontaine is still dealing with emotional trauma of past. One on hand she is a tough, motorcycle riding excellent detective – on the other hand she wakes up every night screaming from nightmares. The author chooses a very unorthodox way for Jude to deal with demons in this book but yet you can understand her reasoning.

Her partner Uriah Ashby is also still trying to get over the grief and guilt of his wife's suicide. Even as hard as it is for him he is helping the community to start a new program for suicide prevention. He and Jude's bond as friends and partners also grows stronger everyday. These two broken halves fit perfectly together and hold the other up when needed.

This author has a great voice in the suspense/thriller genre and I cant wait to see where she is going to take these characters next and what twisted killer she will next have Jude and Uriah tracking down in future books.